Shakira reaches agreement to settle tax fraud case in Spain

BARCELONA:

Colombian superstar Shakira will pay millions of euros in fines as part of a settlement announced Monday with Spanish prosecutors to settle her tax fraud case and avoid trial.

Prosecutors had accused the superstar of defrauding the Spanish state of about 14.5 million euros ($15.7 million) in income she earned between 2012 and 2014, charges Shakira had denied, saying she moved to Spain full-time. only in 2015.

Under the deal, announced at the start of the 46-year-old singer’s trial, Shakira agreed to a three-year suspended sentence and to pay a fine of 7.33 million euros ($7.98 million) equal to 50 percent of the unpaid amount tax.

The Hips do not lie The singer will also pay a separate fine of €432,000 to suspend her prison sentence, bringing the total she will have to pay to around €7.8 million.

Wearing a pink suit and sunglasses, Shakira waved and kissed a small crowd of passers-by before entering the court in Barcelona. The singer, who had previously rejected a plea deal offered by prosecutors, said in a statement that she settled with the best interests of my children at heart who don’t want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight.

“I need to overcome the stress and emotional burden of the last few years and focus on the things I love – my children and all the opportunities to come in my career, including my upcoming world tour and my new album,” he said. “I have tremendous admiration for those who fought these injustices to the end, but for me, today, winning is taking my time back for my children and my career.”

“Nomadic Life”

The case focused on how much time the singer, whose singles have been successful, has been involved in Anytime anywhere and the 2010 World Cup song Waka Wakaspent in Spain between 2012 and 2014.

Spanish authorities claimed that Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll – dubbed the Queen of Latin Pop – spent more than half of that time in Spain and therefore should have paid taxes in the country. She is said to have moved to Spain after her relationship with former Barcelona defender Gerard Pique became public in 2011, but maintained her official tax residence in the Bahamas – where tax rates are much lower than in Spain – until 2015.

Shakira’s lawyers argued that until 2014 she led a “nomadic life” earning most of her money from international tours and that she moved permanently to Barcelona shortly before the birth of her second son in January 2015. She announced her split from Pique in June of 2022 after a ten-year relationship, ending one of the world’s most famous celebrity couples. She moved to Miami in April with her two sons, Milan and Sasha.

Her trial was expected to last until December 14, with the court scheduled to hear nearly 120 witnesses. Spanish prosecutors had interviewed her neighbors, monitored her social media images and checked payments to hairdressers and even the health clinic she attended during her pregnancy to bolster their charges.

Pandora Papers

Questions about Shakira’s finances have been raised in the past. The Latina superstar was named in one of the largest ever leaks of financial documents in October 2021, known as the “Pandora Papers,” which revealed the wealth and tax avoidance strategies of the world’s wealthy. In her case, it involved residency in the Bahamas.

Spain has in recent years cracked down on celebrities, including soccer stars such as Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, for not paying their taxes in full. Both players were found guilty of tax evasion and received prison sentences that are waived for first-time offenders.

Shakira recently won three awards at the Latin Grammy Awards in Seville in southern Spain on Thursday, including song of the year and best pop song for her collaboration with Argentinian DJ Bizarrap on Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53. The piece hits out at Pique’s ex-partner and includes a reference to him being “in debt to the IRS”. It has been played nearly 1.5 billion times on Spotify and YouTube.

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